Decibel Launches Open API for 'Hybrid' Web Content Management System

London-based Decibel Technology is launching an Open Application Programming Interface (API) for its enterprise web content management system, that, according to the company, allows its proprietary CMS to be customized in ways that offer many benefits beyond open source.

The London-based company said the new Decibel API extends the framework of its Web CMS, giving developers “complete control” over features that can be added or modified. By writing code into an app and plugging into the CMS via the API, customers get the “integrity, stability and security” of its flagship product with a minimum of code required for customization.

Remembering the Developer

Decibel CMS is intended for the development of websites, extranets, intranets and business-based applications, and is targeted at developers experienced with PHP 5.3 and MVC frameworks. The company also offers a developer community, where ideas can be exchanged, apps can be bought and sold and free tutorials can be viewed.

Ben Harris, Decibel CEO, said in a statement that his company “took a completely fresh look at the way businesses and developers build and run websites,” and, in reviewing the market, found that “no one is getting the best deal.”

On its website, the company argued that, “when you examine the space between open and closed source WCM options, neither really suits the needs of clients, agencies and developers,” which is why Decibel decided to opt for the Open API “hybrid.”

Harris said that the developer is “often the forgotten about party in the selection of a CMS,” but the ability of the developer to be able to readily utilize and adapt the CMS is key to the lifetime cost of a website. Instead of adapting the CMS, Harris said, a website developer using Decibel would only need to create an app “and then it’s just plug and play.”

Entensible Objects, Integration

Given the popularity of open source CMS and other systems, Decibel offers a variety of reasons why its proprietary system plus Open API is a better approach.

Decibel's CMS platform contains an array of extensible objects that are designed to simplify common development tasks, such as creating a new type of content module or writing an authenticated web service.

Unlike open source, where custom code is owned by the community, any application or code created to customize Decibel is owned by the maker, the company pointed out. The custom application can be transferred to another developer, and the architecture supports rapid development of applications. Additionally, Decibel said, the CMS is fully scalable to handle future growth, can be installed either locally or hosted, and the company provides free updates.